2. Deregulation costs lives

  • Deregulation costs lives. How Texas energy markets put $ before people
  • In 1999, Texas deregulated its energy grid to sidestep the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, avoiding mandatory weatherizing. ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, runs the electricity market in the spirit of greed-driven neoloiberalism. Under ERCOT, hundreds of electric companies (generators, distributors, and retail) compete to provide service to consumers. But in this cutthroat market, the first priority is always to maximize shareholder profits - not to help everyday Texans afford their electric bills, or to keep them safe in weather emergencies.
  • Instead of helping consumers, this deregulation cost Texans $24 billion between 2002-2012. People living in regulated parts of the state pay nearly $300 less per year. Even worse, ERCOT's "I got mine" attitude has deadly consequences: by refusing to integrate with the federal system, Texas can't rely on neighboring regional grids for resilience and support.
  • Thanks to this deregulation, ERCOT's "rolling blackouts" (lasting 48 hours for thousands of Texans) continue to affect poorest zip codes while the rich enjoy heat and light - a class war directly resulting from energy companies' profiteering. Instead of weatherizing the grid - like federal jurisdiction El Paso did - ERCOT's markets put profits over people, without democratic accountability, culminating in a catastrophe leaving 4.4 million Texans without power in record-breaking cold.
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